


someone to believe

by wintersweather



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 06:40:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17239304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersweather/pseuds/wintersweather
Summary: i wanna fall in love with the stars in your eyes





	someone to believe

**Author's Note:**

> title/excerpt from "tonight you're perfect" by new politics!

Pat can remember being a child, ecstatic about being allowed to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year. They're fond memories to him: sitting near the television, admiring the sweeping, panoramic camera views of New York City, the counting down until the ball dropped. It sort of lost it's wonderment as Pat grew older, but he was still apt to turn on the New Year's programs even now, drinking by himself in his NYC apartment each year.

Pat watched it with a tinge of nostalgia. Even at 31, the kid inside of him longed to go, freeze his ass off in the cold for something that would most likely be underwhelming anyway. It's on his mind all day at work the 31st.

"Hey," Brian said, leaning his hip against Pat's desk. He looked frantic, which isn't exactly uncommon for him, but it's enough to make Pat glance up at him and frown. "Laura just cancelled on our plans tonight, which is like, totally valid, but I don't really want to be alone in Times Square. So, I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go?"

"What are you talking about?" Pat asked. Brian was doing that rambling thing he did when he was nervous, and it was making Pat nervous in turn. 

Frustration passed across Brian's expression for a split second, Pat barely caught it. "Just say yes or no." He prompted, not aggressively, but a little forceful.

"Yeah, I'll do it." Pat answered, pushed his hair away from his face. "What'd I commit to?" He added, arching an eyebrow at Brian.

Brian has this wicked smile on his face. "I told you, Times Square. The ball drop and all that. I've never been, I thought it'd be fun." He shrugged a shoulder and pushed himself away from Pat's desk, like he was about it walk away.

Pat felt incredibly bleak. "Hey, I don't know if you know this, but it's kinda cold? Like, outside. And it's supposed to rain." He said, and watched Brian's expression fall momentarily.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll keep you warm." Brian said automatically, and Pat sees panic flash through him. "Not like _that_. Not like - you know - not like, well, unless you want it to be like that?" He paused, his eyes darting away from Pat's. "Anyway." He rectified, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "It'll be fun."

Pat didn't like to think about the intricacies of his and Brian's relationship too often, or too deeply. They'd kissed before, sloppy making out behind a bar, things like that that they both silently vowed to never talk about with one another. But still, Brian slipped up sometimes. Pat was mostly content to pushing it to the back of his mind.

Pat also wasn't so convinced about the whole 'fun' aspect of tonight. "What about getting home? With the crowds and everything, I don't-"

"Do you ever think positively?" Brian questioned, a smile playing at his lips. "It'll be fun, Pat Gill. Trust me on this one." He said, resting a hand on Pat's shoulder for a brief moment before he walked away.

Pat generally trusted Brian, but he wasn't so certain today.

\- - -

Pat's not anticipating Brian to look cute, but he does, and Pat should've known better, because Brian always looks cute. His coat made him seem tiny, like it was too big for him, and he had a pair of earmuffs on his head. It was stupidly adorable, like everything Brian did, and Pat shoved his feelings down. Again and again.

It was as crowded as Pat feared, but Brian was content to staying on the edge with him. They ambled around together, and Pat admired how the city lights reflected off Brian's glasses, the way it seemed to brighten up his entire face. Brian was smiling so much that Pat figured his cheeks had to have been hurting by now.

It was also noisy, and Pat felt a little like a grumpy old man. He hoped he wasn't bringing Brian down, but he was glad to have Brian with him. He'd be home with Charlie right now if not for Brian, and that was a grim thought. 

At some point, Brian took Pat's hand in his own, squeezing tight. When Pat gave him a questioning glance, he just smiled up at Pat, cracked a joke about 'keeping warm'. Pat felt warm alright, and his heart swooped in his chest when he glanced at Brian again. Brian was so pretty, Pat hoped he could remember every detail of his face. The curve of his nose, the tiny scar above his lip, all of it.

Brian leaned close to Pat as they walked, getting closer to the middle of the Square. It was getting later, and Pat was tired, but Brian was keeping his spirits high. He chatted to Pat as they walked, about nothing in particular, just talking to fill the silence between them. He had a tendency to do that. Pat was grateful for it.

The ball itself was bigger than Pat had expected as he and Brian gazed up at it from afar. It was lit up, neon patterns swirling across it, and Brian squeezed his hand again. Pat looked down at him and smiled, just a little, and Brian whispered "I'm excited" and Pat's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.

They count down when everyone else does, a chorus of people chanting the numbers. He could feel Brian beside him, bouncing on his heels as it went on, nearly vibrating with excitement. They get to the last five, and Pat barely registered that Brian was in front of him, gloved hands pressed to either side of Pat's face, standing on his toes. Brian was whispering the final numbers, his lips pressing against Pat's right after "one", and Pat wrapped his arms around Brian's waist, pulling him close.

They'd never kissed around others, and Pat feels the weight of that on his heart as Brian pulled away, giggly and flushed. Pat pressed his forehead to Brian's and laughed, breathless, and Brian's hands are pressed flat to Pat's chest, feeling the material of Pat's flannel, feeling Pat's heart beat.

"You made me miss the ball drop." Pat murmured before kissing Brian's cheek, lips warm against Brian's skin.

Brian sighed, content, and shook his head a little. "Guess we'll have to come again next year, huh?"

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S BEEN SO LONG but u know i had to get smthn out before 2019 (even if it's short)!
> 
> i started writing fics for polygon in april of this year (36 fics in 8 months!), and i'm Extremely Grateful for the community i've found here. i've never been one to interact with most fandom spaces,so it was sorta a leap of faith for me, but i figured i'd just post the first one and see where it went. i'm so happy i did <3
> 
> so, here's to 2019!
> 
> twitter: estcryptid  
> tumblr: easterntimecryptid


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